LB 

1638 


$B  TE  bfie 


VOL.  9 


SEPTEMBER  1.  1913 


No.   17 


University  of  Pittsburgh 
Bulletin 


Latin  Series 


Number  One 


Aims  and  Methods 


OF 


High  School  Latin 


BY 


B.  L.  ULLMAN,  Ph.  D. 

Professor  of  Latin 


Published  Semi-Monthly  by  the  University  oJ  Pittsburgh 


Entered    June    4,    1910,  at   the    Post    Office    at    Pittsburgh,    Pa., 

as  second  class  matter  under  act  of  Congress  of 

July  16,  1894. 


VOL.  9  SEPTEMBER  1.  1913  No.  17 

University  of  Pittsburgh 
Bulletin 

Latin  Series  Number  One 

Aims  and  Methods 

OF 

High  School  Latin 

BY 

B.  L.  ULLMAN,  Ph.  D. 

Professor  of  Latin 


Published  Semi- Monthly  by  the  University  of  Pittsburgh 


Entered   June    4,    1910,  at   the   Post   Office   at   Pittsburgh,   Pa. 

as  second  class  matter  under  act  of  Congress  of 

July  16,  1894. 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 

The  University  of  Pittsburgh  believes  that  it  is  its  function  to  be  of 
the  greatest  possible  service  to  the  people  of  Western  Pennsylvania.  The 
department  of  Latin  of  the  University  desires  to  do  its  share  towards  the 
accomplishment  of  this  aim.  One  of  the  plans  of  the  department  is  to 
publish  a  series  of  bulletins  that  may  be  of  value  to  the  principals  and 
Latin  teachers  of  the  high  schools  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  especially 
those  who  can  not  avail  themselves  of  the  courses  of  instruction  at  this 
University,  or  elsewhere.  It  is  intended  that  these  bulletins  shall  treat  of 
methods  of  teaching,  the  course  of  study,  points  to  be  emphasized,  making 
the  subject  interesting,  etc.  Bibliographical  notes  are  to  be  included.  The 
intention  is  to  be  suggestive  and  helpful  rather  than  exhaustive  and  novel. 
Besides  publishing  these  bulletins  from  time  to  time,  the  department  of 
Latin  is  at  all  times  ready  to  assist  Latin  teachers  and  others  in  any 
way  it  can  in  matters  of  teaching,  encouraging  the  Qassics,  etc. — to  be 
a  clearing-house  for  all  matters  pertaining  to  Latin  in  this  part  of  the 
state.  Suggestions  for  this  purpose  and  for  the  bulletin  will  be  wel- 
comed. 

B.  L.  Ullman,  Professor  of  Latin. 


Copies  of  the  Bulletin  may  be  had  free  by  addressing  the  Secretary, 

University  of  Pittsburgh. 


M2339e9 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

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http://www.archive.org/details/aimsmethodsofhigOOullmrich 


AIMS  AND  METHODS  OF  HIGH  SCHOOL  LATIN 


It  is  the  purpose  of  this  bulletin  to  suggest  to  teachers  of  Latin  that 
it  is  highly  desirable  for  them  to  ask  themselves  what  their  aims  are  in 
teaching  Latin  and  how  those  aims  affect  or  should  affect  their  methods 
— for  we  can  not  discuss  methods  profitably  until  we  have  come  to  some 
conclusion  about  aims.  This  fundamental  truth  is  not  always  remem- 
bered by  those  who  talk  about  methods.  To  achieve  the  purpose  indi- 
cated, it  is  proposed  to  present  the  various  aims  and  to  make  brief  com- 
ments on  methods  suggested  by  them,  more  detailed  discussion  being  left 
to  another  time. 

Entirely  too  many  teachers  will  say  that  they  have  no  aims,  that, 
though  they  know  little  about  the  subject  and  have  no  interest  in  it,  they 
have  been  assigned  classes  in  Latin  against  their  wishes,  or  that  they  are 
teaching  Latin  because  the  positions  which  they  are  holding  pay  better 
than  others,  etc.  In  this  state  of  affairs  lies  the  responsibility,  it  seems 
to  me,  for  much  of  the  dissatisfaction  with  the  American  high  school. 
It  is  asserted  that  none  of  the  subjects  is  properly  taught  and  that  poor- 
ly equipped  teachers  have  passed  on  their  meagre  knowledge  to  their 
successors.  The  fault  is  not  that  of  the  teacher  but  of  the  authorities  or 
the  community.  I  do  not  mean  to  say,  of  course,  that  a  narrow  specialist 
is  needed  in  the  high  school,  or  that  a  person  with  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  his  subject  is  sure  to  be  a  good  teacher.  Unfortunately,  the  prom- 
inence given  in  recent  years  to  teaching  students  in  distinction  from 
teaching  Latin  or  any  given  subject  has  tended  to  give  the  impression 
that  a  knowledge  of  principles  and  methods  of  teaching,  etc.,  is  all-im- 
portant and  that  a  knowledge  of  the  subject  is  of  lesser  importance.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  both  are  important — ^but  an  adequate  knowledge  of  the 
subject  must  come  first.  Horse  and  cart  are  both  necessary,  but  progress 
will  be  somewhat  slow  if  you  get  them  in  the  wrong  order. 

Let  us  return  to  our  main  point — the  aim  or  aims  of  high  school 
Latin.  Some  teachers  say  that  their  entire  aim  is  to  prepare  students  for 
college  entrance  examinations.  Such  a  statement  today  betrays  either 
ignorance  or  prejudice.  For  in  the  first  place,  many  colleges  now  admit 
students  on  certificate  (and  this  is  particularly  true  of  the  colleges  which 
the  majority  of  Western  Pennsylvania  students  attend),  and,  in  the  sec- 
ond place,  even  those  colleges  which  require  examination  have,  for  the 
most  part,  so  modified  their  examinations  that  teachers  now  have  little 
reason  to  say  that  their  sole  aim  is  to  prepare  for  these  examinations. 
This  change  has  been  due  to  a  report  of  a  representative  Committee  of 
Fifteen  which  recommended  that  greater  attention  be  given  in  the  examina- 
tions to  the  ability  to  translate  Latin  at  sight.     A  detailed  discussion  of 


AIMS   AND  METHODS 


this  important  report  must  be  left  to  another  bulletin,  as  it  involves  the 
question  of  the  high  school  course  in  Latin.  It  must  not  be  overlooked 
that  many  colleges  go  much  farther  than  the  Committee's  suggestions.  It 
can  not  be  said  then  that  the  high  school  Latin  teachers  of  Western 
Pennsylvania  are  dominated  by  the  colleges  as  far  as  aims  and  methods 
are  concerned. 

Some  of  us  take  the  position  that  our  aim  is  so  obviously  to  teach 
the  student  to  read  Latin  with  understanding  that  any  discussion  of  the 
matter  is  superfluous.  In  a  way  this  is  of  course  true,  but  the  trouble 
is  that  it  does  not  go  deep  enough.  Why  should  our  students  be  able  to 
read  Latin?  Evidently  we  can  not  be  satisfied  with  so  general  a  guiding 
principle.  When  we  come  down  to  "brass  tacks"  we  see  that  our  aims 
must  coincide  with  our  conceptions  of  the  educational  values  of  Latin. 

There  are  many  who  would  say  categorically  that  our  only  aim  is 
to  instil  an  appreciation  of  Latin  literature.  If  this  be  so,  then  we  can 
not  expect  many  students  to  study  Latin.  The  majority  of  students  can 
not  be  expected  to  reach  a  stage  of  appreciation  during  the  high  school 
course  that  would  justify  the  expenditure  of  one-fourth  of  their  time, 
and  we  can  not  go  on  the  supposition  that  they  will  go  to  college  and 
continue  Latin  there.  We  must  leave  the  college  out  of  consideration 
and  think  of  the  high  school  coiirse  as  an  end-all  and  be-all  in  itself; 
for  it  must  be  understood  that  we  are  trying  to  justify  the  study  of  Latin 
by  the  thousands  whose  Latin  course  does  not  extend  beyond  the  high 
school.  Furthermore  we  must  keep  in  mind  the  students  who  do  not 
complete  even  the  high  school  Latin  course.  If  literary  appreciation  is  to 
be  the  chief  aim,  we  must  be  content  to  see  a  comparatively  small  number 
of  Latin  students  in  our  schools.  I  do  not  of  course  mean  that  literary 
appreciation  has  no  place  at  all  in  the  high  school  Latin  course — we  shall 
see  in  a  moment  what  that  place  is. 

It  seems  rather  that  there  should  be  several  aims  of  Latin  study — 
the  more  that  we  can  accomplish  by  teaching  Latin,  the  more  suitable  a 
subject  it  is  for  the  high  school.  There  is  thus  no  reason  to  attack 
Latin  because  teachers  can  not  agree  on  any  one  aim.  The  important 
aims  may  be  grouped  under  four  heads:  i)  mental  discipline,  2)  help  in 
English  and  all  language  study,  3)  literary  appreciation,  4)  historical 
perspective.  Teachers  differ  as  to  the  relative  importance  of  these. 
Taking  the  high  school  Latin  course  as  a  whole,  the  second  seems  to  me 
the  most  important;  in  the  early  years  the  first  is  more  important  than 
the  third  or  fourth;  in  the  later  years  the  reverse  is  true;  finally  the 
fourth  seems  more  important  than  the  third.  The  first  two  are  far  more 
easy  of  attainment  and  appeal  to  far  more  persons  than  the  third.  Let 
us  discuss  them  in  order. 


HIGH  SCHOOL  LATIN 


I.  Mental  Discipline. 

A  few  years  ago  many  educators  scoffed  at  the  idea  of  getting  "for- 
mal discipline",  as  it  was  called,  from  any  subject;  i.  e-,  it  was  denied  that 
any  mental  habit  could  be  transferred  from  one  field  to  another.  The 
anti-discipline  movement,  like  many  others,  was  not  altogether  without 
basis  of  truth,  and  thus  had  a  wholesome  effect,  but  the  consensus  of 
opinion  to-day  is  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  discipline  (we  now  call  it 
"mental"  discipline)  and  that  it  is  an  extremely  important  function  of 
the  high  school  course.l  But  it  is  often  asserted  that  other  subjects  give 
discipline  besides  Latin.  This  is  true,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  Latin  is  a 
better-balanced  discipline  than  other  subjects,  and  that  this  fact,  together 
with  its  other  advantages,  makes  it  a  highly  efficient  educational  instru- 
ment. It  has  been  said  that  "the  science  of  language  is  the  subject 
which  of  all  the  circle  of  the  Sciences  affords  us  the  most  satisfactory 
revelations  about  human  thought  and  methods  of  apprehension."2  And 
as  for  Latin,  it  has  been  said  that  "an  inherent  logic  [is]  the  main  char- 
acteristic of  the  Latin  language  and  grammar."3  Let  us  try  to  analyze 
(difficult  though  it  be)  what  we  mean  by  discipline  and  see  if  our  claims 
are  justified,  and  at  the  same  time  consider  what  influence  the  aim  to  apply 
effectively  the  various  forms  of  discipline  should  have  on  method. 

The  power  of  observation — correct  observation — is  necessarily  culti- 
vated more  in  Latin  than  in  modern  languages  because  of  the  greater 
number  of  forms.  It  is  necessary  for  the  student  to  recognize  the  forms 
in  the  sentence  before  he  can  translate  it.  Since  this  is  fundamental,  it 
is  all-important  for  the  student  to  learn  the  forms  at  the  beginning  of  his 
course.  Drill  on  forms  is  thus  the  chief  work  of  the  first  year.  This  does 
not  mean  merely  memorizing  a  list  of  them.  The  student  must  know  the 
forms — he  must  associate  meaning  and  function  with  each  individual  one 
in    order    to    recognize     them    when    he    meets    the    form.     One    might 


Johnston,  High  School  Education,  p.  44:  "Finally  it  should  be  kept 
constantly  in  mind  that,  in  the  considerations  of  this  chapter,  two  vital 
questions  are  involved.  One  is  that  we  must  make  our  choice  of  studies 
and  of  selected  materials  in  these  studies  with  reference  to  the  discip- 
linary effects  inherent  in  them,  as  well  as  with  reference  to  the  imme- 
diate social  use  and  advantage  they  possess.  The  other  is  that,  after 
our  curriculum  subjects  and  the  particular  topics  within  these  special 
fields  have  been  settled  upon,  we  must  refine  our  methods  so  as  to 
make  the  best  possible  use  of  the  subject-matter  in  the  course." 
Quoted  by  Weise,  Language  and  Character  of  the  Roman  People 
(English  translation),  p.  64. 
Ibid.  p.  55- 


8  AIMS   AND   METHODS 

train  a  South  Sea  Islander  unacquainted  with  English  to  recite  from 
memory  the  soliloquy  from  "Hamlet".  To  an  American  listener  the 
sounds  would  convey  a  meaning,  to  the  speaker  they  would  be  merely  a 
succession  of  sounds.  In  the  case  of  most  students  who  do  poor  work  in 
Latin  in  their  later  years  the  trouble  goes  back  to  the  first  year,  and  much 
of  the  trouble  of  the  first  year  is  due  to  this  sort  of  mechanical  memoriz- 
ing. 

We  need  then  intelligent  drill  in  forms  in  the  first  year,  but  further 
than  that  we  need  accurate  observation  of  forms  in  the  following  years. 
Insistence  on  this  point  is  essential  to  real  progress,  and  at  the  same 
time  acts  as  a  stimulus  to  correct  observation  and  thus  is  invaluable  for 
discipline. 

After  a  given  set  of  facts  has  been  observed,  the  next  step  is  to  re- 
late them  to  each  other  by  the  reasoning  process.  This  is  exactly  what 
must  be  done  in  translating  a  Latin  sentence — more  so  than  in  a  modern 
language.  As  far  as  the  process  of  reasoning  is  concerned  reading  Eng- 
lish is  like  watching  the  spokes  of  a  rapidly  moving  wheel — we  get  only 
the  general  effect;  our  reading  of  a  modern  foreign  language  is  like 
watching  the  spokes  when  the  wheel  moves  slowly;  reading  Latin  gives 
one  the  opportunity  of  examining  carefully  the  individual  spokes  of  the 
motionless  wheel.  In  order  to  learn  Latin  and  in  order  to  gain  the  full 
benefit  of  this  discipline,  it  is  important  that  the- teacher  constantly  en- 
courage correct  reasoning.  Let  us  illustrate  the  processes  of  observation 
and  reasoning  by  a  concrete  example:  In  hostis  castris  eram.  A  care- 
less student  starts  to  translate  thus :  'Tn  the  enemy" — and  stops.  The 
teacher  asks  what  the  case  of  hostis  is  and  by  judicious  questions  and 
suggestions  he  gets  at  the  correct  answer.  "If  it  is  genitive,  can  it  be  the 
object  of  int"  asks  the  teacher.  "No,"  is  the  answer.  "Why?"  "Because 
prepositions  do  not  govern  the  genitive."  "What  must  be  the  construc- 
tion of  hostis  then?"  "It  must  depend  on  castris,"  etc.  This  sort  of 
thing  m.ust  go  on  continually  in  the  class-room  during  the  earlier  work. 
Gradually  the  pupils  make  fewer  mistakes,  the  teacher  takes  more  things 
for  granted,  and  the  details  of  the  reasoning  process  are  laid  bare  less 
often.  It  is  the  teacher's  art  to  know  both  what  he  needs  to  ask  and 
what  not  to  ask.  To  give  the  student  the  greatest  amount  of  discipline 
the  teacher  should  force  the  student  to  think  for  himself.  A  lazy  stud- 
ent often  makes  an  unreasonable  answer  to  a  question  on  construction. 
The  teacher  must  keep  at  him  till  he  makes  him  think  it  out.  The  ef- 
fect will  be  salutary  to  the  individual  and  the  class.  It  is  discipline  in 
a  double  sense. 

Latin  syntax  should  be  taught,  in  some  measure,  at  least,  as  a  reason- 
able thing.  The  inductive  method — impossible  if  carried  to  extremes — 
can  be  of  some  service  here.    In  taking  up  certain  new  constructions,  the 


HIGH  SCHOOL  LATIN 


student  may  be  taught  to  observe  certain  facts,  and  to  reason  out  rules 
from  them — all  under  the  guidance  of  the  teacher.  And  this  suggests 
that  nothing  should  be  more  welcomed  by  the  Latin  teacher  than  the 
supervized-study  plan  which  is  being  introduced  in  some  schools.  Proper 
supervision  (which  does  not  mean  doing  the  student's  work  for  him)  is 
bound  vo  improve  the  work  done.  For  one  thing  it  will  help  in  the  mat- 
ter of  "ponies" — a  disease  which  comes  over  some  schools  like  a  blight 
and  leaves  others  untouched. 

Altogether,  then,  this  observation  and  reasoning,  with  the  necessity 
for  accuracy,  concentration  and  hard  work  which  it  entails,  furnishes  in 
Latin  a  "splendid  mental  discipline",  to  use  the  words  of  one  who  is  none 
too  good  a  friend  of  Latin,  President  G.  Stanley  Hall.l 


XL     Aid  in  English  and  Language  Study. 

Let  us  consider  the  value  of  Latin  for  English,  and  its  effect  on 
aims  and  methods.  First,  there  is  the  fundamental  language  value  of 
Latin  syntax.  One  often  hears  people  say  that  they  knew  no  English 
grammar  until  they  studied  Latin.  French  and  German  are  just  as  de- 
pendent on  Latin  for  this  purpose  and  therefore  can  not  serve  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  Latin.  The  Latin  teacher  should  keep  this  value  of  Latin  in 
mind  when  teaching  syntax — he  should  compare  and  contrast  English 
and  Latin  syntax.  Even  more  important  is  the  matter  of  vocabulary.  The 
English  words  that  everybody  knows  from  childhood  are  mostlv  of 
Anglo-Saxon  origin;  the  words  that  we  learn  later  are  largely  of  Latin 
origin,  directly  or  indirectly.  The  objection  has  been  raised  that  the 
meanings  of  such  words  are  usually  not  the  same  as  they  were  in  the 
Classical  Latin  authors  which  we  read,  but  as  they  were  in  late  Latin 
and  the  Romance  languages;  that,  therefore,  a  Romance  language  like 
French  should  be  studied  instead  of  Classical  Latin.  This  objection  be- 
trays utter  misapprehension  of  the  point.  Why  study  any  language  but 
our  own?  Why  go  to  the  trouble  of  learning  that  the  Latin  form  of  'con- 
science' is  'conscientia',  or  that  the  French  form  of  'scruple'  is  'scrupule'? 
It  is  because  the  word  has  changed  in  meaning  fc^t  it  is  essential  to  get 
at  the  original  meaning,  and  this  for  two  reasonja :  sometimes  an  English 
word  derived  from  the  Latin  is  used  in  several  senses — the  original  and 
a  derived  meaning,  and  we  must  be  able  to  sec  how  the  latter  grew  out 
of  the  former,  and,  secondly,  a  word  is  often  used  in  a  combination  of 
senses  picturing  its  whole  history.  Both  of  these  things  are  due  to  the 
fact  that  most  of  the  men  who  have  molded  our  language  have  been  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  Latin — Classical  Latin. 

1     In  a  lecture  at  the  University  of  Pittsburj*^,  July  9,  1913. 


/ 


10 AIMS   AND  METHODS 

The  importance  of  Latin  for  English  vocabulary  should  be  recognized 
in  the  teaching.  English  derivatives  should  always  be  sought  out  by  the 
student  under  the  teacher's  direction  from  the  very  beginning  of  Latin 
study.  The  teacher  must  get  the  pupil  into  the  habit  of  associating  the 
Latin  word  and  the  English  derivatives.  An  interesting  experiment  for 
the  teacher  to  try  by  himself  and  to  illustrate  before  the  class  is  to  take 
a  paragraph  or  page  of  Latin  and  to  see  how  few  of  the  words  have  no 
English  derivatives.  This  emphasis  on  derivation  has  a  practical  result 
for  the  Latin  itself.  It  is  a  great  help  in  the  acquisition  of  a  Latin  vo- 
cabulary. Getting  a  vocabulary  is  a  matter  of  associations,  and  the  most 
useful  and  natural  associations  are  those  of  Latin  word  and  English  de- 
rivatives. While  we  are  on  this  point,  it  may  be  said  that  getting  the 
meaning  of  the  new  words  in  a  Latin  sentence  should  not  be  difficult — 
what  with  English  derivatives,  related  Latin  words  and  the  context — the 
difficulty  is  in  recognizing  the  form.  To  take  the  example  given  above, 
the  student  does  not  know  whether  hostis  is  dative  or  ablative  plural  of 
the  first  or  second  declension,  or  genitive  singular  of  the  third.  The 
special  vocabularies  in  our  school  editions  are  great  evils,  though  nec- 
essary ones,  apparently,  under  our  present  system.  It  might  be  a  great 
help  if  they  merely  gave  the  information  about  the  form  of  the  word  (e. 
g.,  hostis,  noun,  masc,  gen.  hostis)  and  omitted  the  English  translation, 
leaving  it  to  the  notes  to  supply  it  when  absolutely  necessary.  There  is 
no  question  but  that  students  are  altogether  too  dependent  on  the  vocab- 
ulary. A  partial  remedy,  even  with  our  present  books,  is  to  do  a  good 
deal  of  sight  reading— in  which  the  teacher  should  lead  the  student  to  find 
the  meaning  of  the  new  words  and  not  tell  him  outright. 

Another  thing  to  be  stressed  for  the  sake  of  the  English  is  Latin 
word  formation.  Finally,  teachers  should  be  extremely  careful  about  the 
English  that  the  students  use  in  translating.  This  is  apt  to  be  one  of 
the  weak  points  in  the  Latin  work.  I  doubt  if  the  student's  English  is 
harmed  by  slip-shod  translation  in  the  Latin  class-room,  as  some  main- 
tain, but  it  certainly  is  not  improved,  and  thus  one  of  our  most  import- 
ant aims  may  in  part  be  nullified.  A  striking  testimonial  to  the  value  of 
Latin  for  English  is  given  by  Mr.  A-  S.  Perkins  of  the  Dorchester,  Mass. 
High  School  in  the  Cl^sical  Journal,  8.  301.  The  teachers  of  the  com- 
mercial department  of  thv:f;^hool  asked  that  Latin  be  substituted  for  mod- 
ern language  in  the  firsts  wo  years  because  their  experience  told  them 
that  the  Latin  students  h^id  a  better  knowledge  of  English,  and  good 
English  was  indispensable  to  the  commercial  graduate.  The  advantage 
of  the  Latin  student  consisted,  they  felt,  "in  giving  a  better  idea  of  the 
meaning  of  words,  and  in  imparting  an  observable  facility  in  expressing 
oneself."  Mr.  Perkins  rigHtly  concluded  that  this  value  of  Latin  was 
so  important  that  he  ought  *a  adapt  his  method  of  teaching  to  it.     He  in- 


r 


HIGH  SCHOOL  LATIN 11 

srsted  on  correct  English  in  translating,  demanding  much  written  work 
for  this  purpose,  and  required  considerable  study  of  English  words  de- 
rived from  Latin,  Such  emphasis  should  not  be  limited  to  a  two-year 
course  for  commercial  students,  but  should  find  a  place  in  all  high  schools. 
One  result  will  be  to  make  it  more  profitable  than  it  has  been  in  some 
schools  for  students  to  take  one  or  two  years  of  Latin, 


III.    Literary  Appreciation. 

In  discussing  literary  appreciation  as  an  aim  of  high  school  Latin 
teaching  we  need  to  have  clearly  in  mind  what  we  mean  by  the  term. 
Some  have  used  it  rather  loosely  to  cover  some  of  the  points  discussed 
above,  as  well  as  those  included  in  our  fourth  aim.  Assuming,  however, 
that  by  literature  we  mean  a  form  of  art,  it  is  clear  that  the  literary  ap- 
preciation to  be  acquired  in  the  first  two  years  is  trifling.  In  dealing  with 
Cicero,  however,  attention  should  be  given  to  the  chief  features  of  his 
periodic  style, — chiasmus,  anaphora,  etc.  Indeed,  a  little  conscious  at- 
tention to  these  matters  will  make  it  far  easier  for  the  student  to  learn 
to  read  Cicero.  Appreciation  of  Cicero  is  vital;  he  who  likes  Cicero  likes 
Latin;  he  who  knows  Cicero  knows  Latin,  more  than  that,  he  knows 
English  style.  No  one  has  had  greater  influence,  directly  and  indirectly, 
on  English  style  than  Cicero.  Some  of  this  influence  can  and  should  be 
pointed  out — a  notable  example  is  Burke.  But  in  the  fourth  year,  with 
its  poetry,  still  greater  stress  should  be  laid  on  the  literary  side.  Scan- 
sion is,  or  should  be,  taught  solely  for  the  purpose  of  adding  charm  to 
the  verse.  Virgil,  as  Cicero,  should  be  brought  into  relation  with  Eng- 
lish literature,  Virgil  and  Ovid  furnish  convenient  starting  points  for 
the  study  of  mythology — a  knowledge  of  which  is  so  important  for  the 
study  of  both  English  and  Latin  literature.  But  there  is  something  more 
which  can  not  be  so  definitely  stated.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  if  the 
teacher  himself  appreciates  the  literature  he  will  pass  on  some  of  his 
appreciation  to  his  students. 


IV.    Historical  Perspective. 

Then  there  is  a  fourth  aim  which  we  should  keep  in  mind — what  we 
may  roughly  call  the  historical,  and  its  value  may  be  called  a  social  one. 
We  may  say  that  it  consists  in  comparing  and  contrasting  ancient  and 
modern  civilization.  The  essential  .hing  is  to  impress  on  the  student 
the  modernness  of  antiquity  and  the  antiquity  of  modernness.  A  broad 
course  in  history,  excellent  as  it  is,  can  not  give  this  impression.     But  a 


12 AIMS  AND   METHODS 

comparison  of  Roman  politics  as  described  by  Cicero  and  Sallust  with 
modern  politics  is  bound  to  have  an  effect.  The  present  age  seems  to  de- 
light in  the  concrete,  and  this  is  especially  true  of  the  school-boy.  To 
read  about  the  remarkable  life  of  Julius  Caesar  may  not  bring  him  very 
near  to  us,  but  if  this  reading  is  accompanied  by  that  of  some  of  the 
original  words  of  this  man  it  can  not  fail  to  be  impressive.  The  teacher 
who  does  not  connect  the  text  of  Caesar  with  Caesar  the  man  is  missing 
a  great  opportunity.  As  with  literary  appreciation,  so  with  historical  ap- 
preciation— the  teacher  himself  must  have  it  to  impart  to  his  students. 
The  lives  of  Caesar  and  Cicero,  the  relation  of  Virgil  to  Augustus,  cer- 
tain phases  of  Roman  life,  private  and  public,  social  and  political — the 
background  needed  for  the  reading  of  the  texts — are  the  materials  that 
the  teacher  should  utilize  in  his  method. 

When  we  sum  it  all  up,  we  find  that,  by  making  these  our  aims,  we 
nre  using  an  excellent  method  of  teaching  the  student  to  read  Latin;  by 
keeping  in  mind  the  first  two  aims,  we  teach  him  to  read  with  under- 
standing— knowing  what  the  Latin  says  to  us, — by  keeping  in  mind  the 
last  two  aims,  we  teach  him  to  read  with  intelligence — knowing  what  the 
Latin  means  to  us. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES. 

Aims,  etc. 

Johnston,  High  School  Education  (1912,  Scribner,  $1.50).  This  book, 
the  latest  on  the  subject,  is  based  on  the  correct  assumption  that  no 
one  person  can  speak  authoritatively  on  the  teaching  of  all  the  high 
school  subjects.  The  excellent  chapter  on  Latin  (p.  257!)  is  by  A- 
T.  Walkerr 

Kelsey,  Latin  and  Greek  in  American  Education  (1911,  Macmillan, 
$1.50).  An  invaluable  collection  of  papers  by  various  men  on  the 
position  and  value  of  the  Classics,  particularly  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  professions.  Chapter  II  (Kelsey)  deals  with  aims.  Cf.  also  p. 
303,  "The  Case  for  the  Classics"  (S^iorey),  a  summary  of  arguments 
for  and  against  the  Classics,  with  copious  references  to  the  litera- 
ture of  the  subject;  emphasizes  the  point  that  the  Classics  depend 
not  on  any  on6  value  but  on  all  together. 

Bennett  and  Bristol,  The  Teaching  of  Latin  and  Greek  in  the  Sec- 
ondary   School    (new    edition,    19I1,    Longmans,    Green),    chapter    I. 
Emphasizes  the  value  of  translation  for  English.  Bibliography  of  the 
older  literature. 
Classical  Journal  5.232.     Summa  y  of  opinions  of  a  number  of  teach- 


HIGH  SCHOOL  LATIN X3 

Qassical  Journal  6.233.  Emphasizes  disciplinary  value  and  value  for 
English   (Lord). 

Classical  Journal  3.221.  Deals  briefly  with  the  four  aims  (Greene). 
Sabin,  An  Exhibit  Showing  in  Concrete  Form  the  Relation  of  Greek 
and  Latin  to  Practical  Life  (to  be  published  1913,  not  over  $5).  Will 
contain  the  material  collected  by  a  Latin  teacher  for  use  with  her 
classes.  A  unique  work  which  promises  to  be  of  very  great  value. 
For  details  see  Classical  Journal  8.230. 

Committee  of  Fifteen  on  entrance  requirements. 

The  complete  report  may  be  found  in  the  Classical  Weekly  3.98  and 
the  Classical  Journal  5.155. 

Latin  and  English. 

Classical  Weekly  5.201.  From  the  standpoint  of  a  professor  of  Eng- 
lish (Sherman). 

University  of  Michigan  Bulletin,  New  Series,  Vol.  XIII,  No.  5,  p. 
59.  Emphasizes  English  value  and  insists  on  new  methods  (Gray). 
University  of  New  Mexico  Bulletin,  Educational  Series,  Vol.  I,  No. 
4  (sent  free  on  request).  The  same  author  (Gray)  expresses  the 
same  views  at  greater  length.  Contains  much  that  is  excellent,  but 
over-stresses  the  value  for  English. 

School  Review  19.569.  Emphasizes  English  value  and  suggests  a  sep- 
arate second  year  class  for  those  who  take  but  two  years  of  Latin 
(Scott).    This  seems  unnecessary. 

English  derivatives. 

Perkins   in  the  article  quoted   above    (Classical   Journal  8.301)    lists 
some  books  that  have  aided  him.     Particularly  valuable  is  Greenough 
and  Kittredge,  Words  and  Their  Ways  in  English  Speech  (1901,  Mac- 
.  millan). 

Word  formation. 

Jenks,  Manual  of  Latin  Word  Formation  (Heath,  $-50)  is  indispen- 
sable for  the  teacher. 

Literary  appreciation. 

Classical  Journal  7.34.    Summary  of  opinions  of  a  number  of  teachers. 

Historical  aim. 

Abbott,  Society  and  Politics  in  Ancient  Rome  (1909,  Scribner,  $1.25), 
p.  22f.  A  comparison  of  the  senates  of  Rome  and  the  United  States. 
Classical  Weekly  (to  be  published  in  vol.  7).  A  comparison  of  Amer- 
ican politics  with  politics  of  Cicero's  day  (Ullman). 
Classical  Journal  (to  be  published  in  vol.  9).  A  discussion  of  the 
"recall"  in  ancient  Rome  (Sage).  Helps  to  explain  political  condi- 
tions in  the  time  of  Caesar  and  Cicero. 


14   AIMS  AND  METHODS „____ 

In  the  above  list  reference  is  made  to  a  number  of  articles  in  the  Classi- 
cal Weekly  and  the  Classical  Journal.  Both  of  these  are  indispensable  to 
the  teacher  on  all  matters  pertaining  to  Latin.  Residents  of  Pennsylvania 
can  obtain  the  former  (28  issues  per  year)  only  by  becoming  members 
of  the  Classical  Association  of  the  Atlantic  States  ($2  per  year;  address 
Chas.  Knapp,  Barnard  College,  New  York).  Members  may  obtain  back 
volumes  (1-6)  for  $1  each,  and  the  Classical  Journal  (9  issues  per  year) 
at  the  reduced  rate  of  $1  per  year  (regular  rate  $1.50).  The  School  Re- 
view (University  of  Chicago  Press)  and  the  Educational  Review  (Colum- 
bia University)   occasionally  contain  articles  dealing  with  Latin. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN   DEPT 

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